Dennis Dixon is heading West!: 2021 Fall Trip - Day 6

Sunday, August 29, 2021 - Drive to Church in Columbia Falls, MT, plus figuring out ALL MY GLACIER NATIONAL PARK LOGISTICS:

It was cold as I left Conrad, MT, with the sun just rising:

Kind-of-cool seeing the Crosstrek's shadow keeping pace with me:

I reached All Saints' Episcopal Church just after 9 - they were halfway through the 1st hymn:

From there I headed down to Kalispell, MT to run errands: gas, food, and REALLY FIGURE OUT the COVID-testing stuff (Valley Medical Services is drive-thru, but only open until 3 PM Thursday - I will get the results by Friday 5 PM). With that out of the way, it was time to get up to Glacier National Park:

The Park Rangers were checking everybody's paperwork. You need:
1) a National Parks Pass (I have my Senior Lifetime Pass!)
2) a Private Vehicle Pass, which you get from recreation.gov - $35/$25, good for 7 days (yes, I've got that)
3) SOMETHING ELSE - either
i) a "Going-to-the-Sun Road Entry Reservation Ticket" - $2, good for 7 days
ii) a "Ticket-to-Ride (good for only a single-hour-time-slot)" either from Apgar Visitor Center or St. Mary Visitor Center
iii) an email showing you are going in to pick up a "Backcountry Permit" [WHICH IS ME]

So I drove in and walked over to the Backcountry Permit Center:

I was charged $40 when I made my original request back on March 17. I received my Confirmation email on April 2. I was charged an additional $21 today. Well, it is for a "good cause", and an organization that I love!

In my briefing, I asked about Going-to-the-Sun Road (today and/or Firday), and the answer was that "No, you will not be allowed onto the Road on Friday, but as for today, you're already in the Park. Once in, the Rangers don't check vehicles or hang anything from your mirror. Right now, you're in, so Have Fun."

Whoo-di-Whoo-di-Whoo, THANK YOU GOD!!

I had forgotten my bear spray, so next door I rented a canister, then back to my car. I drove up the "Going-to-the-Sun Road" to park at the Lake McDonald area and hike up to Snyder Lakes:

Needless to say, the Park is beautiful today. (Lake McDonald):

The Parking Area is right next to the Lake McDonald Lodge, with one of the Park's iconic red buses:

Nice view from the back porch:

Starting across the road, Gunsight Pass Trail is very nice:

It was about 2 miles to get to Snyder Lake Trail:

After 2 hours of hiking I was up at Snyder Lake (there are 2 of them, so I guess this is Lower Snyder Lake, or maybe First Snyder Lake):

The BEAUTY speaks for itself.

Nice (fast) hike back down. I did a little side-trip to see Snyder Creek, and finished at 4:32 PM. 8.88 miles in 3 hours 30 minutes:

I think I'll be seeing a lot of BEAUTY over the next few days:

I had forgotten my hiking hat, so I bought another one. Then time for dinner:

Checked in at the Travelodge in Kalispell - 282 miles driving today. Thank You God for all this wonderful time out-here!

Music for today:

Maeve - Movin' On, 2010 3-song ep

Thank you Courtney, Rollyn, and Rachel.

various - All Day Thumbsucker Revisited: Blue Thumb Records, released in 1995, recordings from various artists from 1968 to 1974

32 songs - some very good, others ok. For me, the best is "The City" by Mark-Almond (1970).

Marvin Gaye - Command Performances - 15 Greatest Hits